Brenden Nel's piece makes a compelling point about Erasmus's succession management: compare the 2023 World Cup final 23 to the current Rugby's Greatest Rivalry squad and a dozen of those players are gone — retired, injured, or quietly dropped. Kitshoff and Vermeulen have walked away entirely; Faf has drifted to the Cheetahs; Pollard and Mostert haven't featured in a single RGR test. Yet the Boks have maintained their world number one ranking and are winning over 80% of their matches. The piece attributes that to Erasmus's deliberate depth campaign — 52 players used in 2024, 50 in 2025 — which has quietly embedded genuine replacements in every position: Nortje at lock, Williams/Reinach/Van den Berg at nine, Willemse at 15. The argument is that the transition everyone worried about has already happened, mostly under the radar, and the 2027 squad will look familiar but will carry new faces who've already been blooded.
12 missing from the 2023 final — and you barely noticed
A dozen players from the 2023 World Cup final are no longer in the Bok setup — and most fans barely noticed. Nel's piece maps who's gone and why, and argues that Erasmus's high-volume squad rotation has quietly completed a generational transition without a dip in results.
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- Handré Pollard
- Franco Mostert
- Jaden Hendrikse
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
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Papier earns first Springbok start in eight years against Scotland
Embrose Papier earns his eighth Springbok cap and first start in eight years against Scotland, rewarded for a standout Bulls season that saw him score nine tries.
Rassie's Bomb Squad reset: Who fills the Snyman and Smith void?
Cardinelli breaks down how the enforced absences of Snyman and Smith force Erasmus to reimagine the Bomb Squad, with Paul de Villiers earmarked for a key role and the flyhalf pecking order wide open heading into the Nations Championship.
Rassie backs Pollard through Bulls slump — but the pressure is real
Erasmus is publicly backing Pollard through his Bulls slump, but with Libbok in form, Feinberg-Mngomezulu out, and Moyo now in the mix, the piece argues the pressure on Pollard ahead of the international season is more acute than the coach's measured words let on.
Erasmus credits SA Rugby pipeline after Boks rout Barbarians 80-31
Erasmus praised the composure and maturity of five uncapped players after the Springboks beat the Barbarians 80-31 in Gqeberha, crediting SA Rugby's pipeline for the depth available, while playing down franchise form as a selection concern following the Bulls' heavy URC Final loss to Leinster.